The Premature Celebration Hindrance Call

Well, it finally happened. I called a hindrance and claimed the point. That hasn't happened to me in seven years of USTA play.

The opponent (mixed dubs) was a lady I know well. She is, erm, exuberant on the court. She celebrates her own winners with gusto. She laments errors loudly. Many people, including her partners, find this bothersome. When she was my teammate, some ladies objected to playing with her because they didn't like it (especially the outbursts following their errors).

So. We were in the middle of the first set. I hit a shot and approached the net. She popped the ball over my male partner's head, and he leapt but couldn't reach it. I took off running and caught up with the ball.

As I was still running and getting ready to hit a FH lob, I heard all this celebrating and carrying on from my female opponent. This hollering was nothing in particular (she wasn't doing anything legitimate like warning her partner to back away from an impending smash). No, she was doing war whoops, loud enough for me to hear in a noisy bubble.

I yelled "HINDRANCE!" and stopped the point. My female opponent and her partner were apologetic, but I really felt the celebration was over the top while I was lining up my shot. Knowing how she plays, I felt I needed to put a stop to it. She remained quiet for the rest of the match.

No, but I witnessed a guy from our team call one on another guy. The other guy called him fat boy and all three of them had to meet at the net.lol It was a legite call and the team even awarded the point. I thought it was about to get ugly at the net....lol

Well, it finally happened. I called a hindrance and claimed the point. That hasn't happened to me in seven years of USTA play.

The opponent (mixed dubs) was a lady I know well. She is, erm, exuberant on the court. She celebrates her own winners with gusto. She laments errors loudly. Many people, including her partners, find this bothersome. When she was my teammate, some ladies objected to playing with her because they didn't like it (especially the outbursts following their errors).

So. We were in the middle of the first set. I hit a shot and approached the net. She popped the ball over my male partner's head, and he leapt but couldn't reach it. I took off running and caught up with the ball.

As I was still running and getting ready to hit a FH lob, I heard all this celebrating and carrying on from my female opponent. This hollering was nothing in particular (she wasn't doing anything legitimate like warning her partner to back away from an impending smash). No, she was doing war whoops, loud enough for me to hear in a noisy bubble.

I yelled "HINDRANCE!" and stopped the point. My female opponent and her partner were apologetic, but I really felt the celebration was over the top while I was lining up my shot. Knowing how she plays, I felt I needed to put a stop to it. She remained quiet for the rest of the match.

There are many times that I want to call a hindrance. I have found that doubles players often talk to each other during points when the ball is traveling toward their opponent, but that is a hindrance. Even on a weak lob, yelling to your partner "Get back!" is a hindrance.

One time in a match when I was hitting my overhead well (and frequently right at my opponents), during a tiebreak point the girl on the other team hit a weaker lob, and I was running up to smash it, and her male partner was at the net. When she saw me running up, she yelled "WATCH OUT WATCH OUT WATCH OUT!" in a very loud scream. They did this often during the match when I was hitting my overheads, but this was particularly egregious. This scream was so loud and sudden that it distracted me for a second, and I actually stopped for a split-second and looked around. For all I knew a car was out of control and barreling onto the court. But I went to hit the overhead, and framed it, and it went out. I was very mad and I then called a hindrance, and a large argument ensued. I didn't know the exact rule at the time, and neither did anyone on the court. We decided that if she was yelling that when the ball was on their side of the court, it wasn't a hindrance, and I decided that I didn't know what side of the court the ball was on, so I dropped the hindrance claim. So yes, we made up an incorrect rule on the spot.

I looked it up later, and I was wrong, but for a different reason. I had every right to call a hindrance, based on the yelling when I was about to hit the overhead. You cannot talk to your partner when the ball is traveling toward your opponents, you can only talk with your partner when the ball is traveling toward you. But I hit the ball, and I cannot call a hindrance once I hit the ball. By doing that, I gave myself two chances to win the point.

But it seems to me that so many people in doubles yell things to their partner when the ball is traveling toward their opponent, and very few people know the rule. So I have just decided that I am not going to make hindrance calls, unless the opponent is saying things to deliberately mess me up. It just causes too much confusion and causes too many arguments and it is just not worth the trouble. I just need to concentrate and finish the overhead.

I've only called them on myself - typically when I've hit a shot I thought was going out for sure, said. "You Fool!, Damn!" or somesuch, only to see the ball go in at the other end. Mostly after I stop play and explain that I'm giving the point to the opponents they say they didn't hear me as they were concentrating on the shot... but I've usually stopped play in my own mind, so would not have played on well anyway.

Well, it finally happened. I called a hindrance and claimed the point. That hasn't happened to me in seven years of USTA play.

The opponent (mixed dubs) was a lady I know well. She is, erm, exuberant on the court. She celebrates her own winners with gusto. She laments errors loudly. Many people, including her partners, find this bothersome. When she was my teammate, some ladies objected to playing with her because they didn't like it (especially the outbursts following their errors).

So. We were in the middle of the first set. I hit a shot and approached the net. She popped the ball over my male partner's head, and he leapt but couldn't reach it. I took off running and caught up with the ball.

As I was still running and getting ready to hit a FH lob, I heard all this celebrating and carrying on from my female opponent. This hollering was nothing in particular (she wasn't doing anything legitimate like warning her partner to back away from an impending smash). No, she was doing war whoops, loud enough for me to hear in a noisy bubble.

I yelled "HINDRANCE!" and stopped the point. My female opponent and her partner were apologetic, but I really felt the celebration was over the top while I was lining up my shot. Knowing how she plays, I felt I needed to put a stop to it. She remained quiet for the rest of the match.

Anybody else ever claim hindrance for a premature celebration?

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Good call Cindy, Don't think I've ever faced anyone who celebrates on court like that and if they did it was never before the point was actually over so I havent had to call it on an opponent.

I've only called them on myself - typically when I've hit a shot I thought was going out for sure, said. "You Fool!, Damn!" or somesuch, only to see the ball go in at the other end. Mostly after I stop play and explain that I'm giving the point to the opponents they say they didn't hear me as they were concentrating on the shot... but I've usually stopped play in my own mind, so would not have played on well anyway.

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I do however play with a partner sometimes that does this. He mishits and just assumes he hit it out when he hasn't taken the time to see where the ball actually went. So he'll let out a loud "aww darnit" or something to that effect and I have stopped play and given the point to the opponents.

Reading the story I thought you were going to take off the gloves. Glad she got the hint and toned it down. I don't call anything on anyone because I have found tennis has an inordinate amount of people who are wired wrong upstairs when compared to other sports. I like to avoid conflict and let my play speak for me. That doesn't always work at my level. haha.

I often blurt something out while the ball is traveling toward opponent. Usually, it is commentary on my own crappy shot that still somehow found the court. Usually, I yell out, "Oh, my Gawd." No one has ever complained. If they did claim hindrance, I would give them the point, of course.

A lot of people think that if they talk/yell when they shouldn't, it is an automatic hindrance. That's not the rule. The act has to actually hinder the opponent. If they didn't have a play on the ball or didn't hear it or didn't find it problematic, then it isn't a hindrance.

I have had people come to the net after a long point and offer to surrender the point because they yelled at the wrong time. This shows, IMHO, a lack of understanding of the hindrance rule. If I don't say I was hindered, then that's that.

We had another weird thing happen, unrelated to hindrance.

I was serving to the guy in the deuce court. I missed my first serve. I was trying to use extra slice for the second serve, and I botched it. It went straight toward the woman in the service box, and she deflected it on the fly with her racket.

My partner didn't want to take the point because that's bush. I didn't want to surrender the point because, well, under the rules it was our point. So I explained to them that it was our point but we didn't want to take a point under those circumstances, so we could play a let instead. They cheerfully agreed.

So. That might be the first time I have played a let when the rules are clear about who won the point.

Your situational awareness (as they say in the military) must be pretty good if you could hear the hindrance, separate it from noise on other courts, and stop your run to the ball. Most players would end up hitting the ball and complaining afterwards.

Your situational awareness (as they say in the military) must be pretty good if you could hear the hindrance, separate it from noise on other courts, and stop your run to the ball. Most players would end up hitting the ball and complaining afterwards.

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That tells you how loud the screaming was, given I could hear it clearly from behind the baseline in a noisy bubble while running and my back to her.

Yea, we had this exact same arguement in another thread. I had a similiar situation where I hit a lob...initially thought it was short and told my partner to get back....he reversed and took two running steps towards the lob and once he saw it had a lot of top spin and he couldn't make it turned and tried to call a hindrance. I was having none of it for a couple of reasons. They as well as us had been doing that the whole match....He was about 6'9 and was heavy and we had lobbed them to death. So he was tired and that's why he tried what he did. I didn't honor it and we took the point. I understand rules but there has to be some sense of common sense in there. "You can't get two chances at the point" and that was exactly the language I used in the other thread. People want to at times massage the rules and use them when it's convenient. Maybe you didn't do that but I've seen quite a few people who do. A guy tried to call a foot fault at the end of a second set after I'd been serving and volleying for two sets and killing them with a 30 mph serve but was stinging vollies...I said okay...and took a step back did the same thing on the second serve. When I went to the other side and called it on him...he tried to raise hell. lol He wasn't even serving and volleying. So it backfired on him. He had both feet in the court but had the nerve to call it on me. lol This was doubles by the way. lol

There are many times that I want to call a hindrance. I have found that doubles players often talk to each other during points when the ball is traveling toward their opponent, but that is a hindrance. Even on a weak lob, yelling to your partner "Get back!" is a hindrance.

One time in a match when I was hitting my overhead well (and frequently right at my opponents), during a tiebreak point the girl on the other team hit a weaker lob, and I was running up to smash it, and her male partner was at the net. When she saw me running up, she yelled "WATCH OUT WATCH OUT WATCH OUT!" in a very loud scream. They did this often during the match when I was hitting my overheads, but this was particularly egregious. This scream was so loud and sudden that it distracted me for a second, and I actually stopped for a split-second and looked around. For all I knew a car was out of control and barreling onto the court. But I went to hit the overhead, and framed it, and it went out. I was very mad and I then called a hindrance, and a large argument ensued. I didn't know the exact rule at the time, and neither did anyone on the court. We decided that if she was yelling that when the ball was on their side of the court, it wasn't a hindrance, and I decided that I didn't know what side of the court the ball was on, so I dropped the hindrance claim. So yes, we made up an incorrect rule on the spot.

I looked it up later, and I was wrong, but for a different reason. I had every right to call a hindrance, based on the yelling when I was about to hit the overhead. You cannot talk to your partner when the ball is traveling toward your opponents, you can only talk with your partner when the ball is traveling toward you. But I hit the ball, and I cannot call a hindrance once I hit the ball. By doing that, I gave myself two chances to win the point.

But it seems to me that so many people in doubles yell things to their partner when the ball is traveling toward their opponent, and very few people know the rule. So I have just decided that I am not going to make hindrance calls, unless the opponent is saying things to deliberately mess me up. It just causes too much confusion and causes too many arguments and it is just not worth the trouble. I just need to concentrate and finish the overhead.

Yea, we had this exact same arguement in another thread. I had a similiar situation where I hit a lob...initially thought it was short and told my partner to get back....he reversed and took two running steps towards the lob and once he saw it had a lot of top spin and he couldn't make it turned and tried to call a hindrance. I was having none of it for a couple of reasons. They as well as us had been doing that the whole match....He was about 6'9 and was heavy and we had lobbed them to death. So he was tired and that's why he tried what he did. I didn't honor it and we took the point. I understand rules but there has to be some sense of common sense in there. "You can't get two chances at the point" and that was exactly the language I used in the other thread. People want to at times massage the rules and use them when it's convenient. Maybe you didn't do that but I've seen quite a few people who do. A guy tried to call a foot fault at the end of a second set after I'd been serving and volleying for two sets and killing them with a 30 mph serve but was stinging vollies...I said okay...and took a step back did the same thing on the second serve. When I went to the other side and called it on him...he tried to raise hell. lol He wasn't even serving and volleying. So it backfired on him. He had both feet in the court but had the nerve to call it on me. lol This was doubles by the way. lol

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I don't remember arguing this with you before so I think you have me confused with someone else. But if you tell your partner to get back when the ball is traveling toward your opponent and the opponent feel that he is hindered and stops play right then, then it is a properly called hindrance.

Yea, we had this exact same arguement in another thread. I had a similiar situation where I hit a lob...initially thought it was short and told my partner to get back....he reversed and took two running steps towards the lob and once he saw it had a lot of top spin and he couldn't make it turned and tried to call a hindrance. I was having none of it for a couple of reasons. They as well as us had been doing that the whole match....He was about 6'9 and was heavy and we had lobbed them to death. So he was tired and that's why he tried what he did. I didn't honor it and we took the point. I understand rules but there has to be some sense of common sense in there. "You can't get two chances at the point" and that was exactly the language I used in the other thread. People want to at times massage the rules and use them when it's convenient. Maybe you didn't do that but I've seen quite a few people who do. A guy tried to call a foot fault at the end of a second set after I'd been serving and volleying for two sets and killing them with a 30 mph serve but was stinging vollies...I said okay...and took a step back did the same thing on the second serve. When I went to the other side and called it on him...he tried to raise hell. lol He wasn't even serving and volleying. So it backfired on him. He had both feet in the court but had the nerve to call it on me. lol This was doubles by the way. lol

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Sorry but you should have given the point to your opponent, he may have hesitated to back up for your lob when you told your partner to get back assuming that it was indeed a short lob because of your comment.

It doesnt matter how many times either team had done it, that never prevents you or them from calling it later on.

BTW you can't call someone on a foot fault out of the blue, you have to warn them first.

You cannot yell or even "talk" while the ball is going over to your opponents side of the court. The rules do not distinguish between the type of outburst for simplicities sake and for continuity.

If you pop a ball up and have an "outburst" it is a hindrance.

People seem to think saying "watch out" or "short" or "heads up" somehow makes a difference between saying "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" or "AVADA KEDAVRA!!!". There is no difference.

The only time you can have an "outburst" is when the ball is coming over to your side of the court. In doubles, usually this means using words like "mine", "yours", "deep", or "bounce it".

I await the day where I will have to have the talk with my mixed partner because she always says "watch out". Come playoff time I can see someone calling it on us especially on a critical point. She's a 3.5 national levels player
(shes a 4.0 "B" now) and shes a lawyer. She's like a little "pit bull" lol. She's so much fun to play with. Anyway...

You cannot yell or even "talk" while the ball is going over to your opponents side of the court. The rules do not distinguish between the type of outburst for simplicities sake and for continuity.

If you pop a ball up and have an "outburst" it is a hindrance.

People seem to think saying "watch out" or "short" or "heads up" somehow makes a difference between saying "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" or "AVADA KEDAVRA!!!". There is no difference.

The only time you can have an "outburst" is when the ball is coming over to your side of the court. In doubles, usually this means using words like "mine", "yours", "deep", or "bounce it".

I await the day where I will have to have the talk with my mixed partner because she always says "watch out". Come playoff time I can see someone calling it on us especially on a critical point. She's a 3.5 national levels player
(shes a 4.0 "B" now) and shes a lawyer. She's like a little "pit bull" lol. She's so much fun to play with. Anyway...

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Nope, the bold part is not true.

You can warn your partner to watch out.

You can tell for your partner to stay, or get back, or come in with you.

You can shriek, "Everybody watch out, he's got a gun!!""

It is only a hindrance if your opponents say it was, and if they had any play on the ball. This is why it is silly to come to the net and confess your utterances and offer up the point. It is up to the opponents to decide if they were hindered and call it in a timely way per the Code.

Yes, it is not a good habit to talk while the ball is moving toward the opponents. You are running the risk of a hindrance call by your opponents. Better is to keep quiet. And IMHO, you should warn your partner of a pending smash, and if this means your opponents decide to call a hindrance, then you gracefully accept their decisions.

Opponent hits a drop shot and starts celebrating. I hustle and get the ball back to their surprise and point continues for a couple more strokes. We win the point and then I go ballistic at the umpire trying to explain the rule. The only reason I didn't stop the play was I knew no one in Vietnam adheres to that specific rule seeing players talking in the middle of the point. I would end up coming off as anal. Case in point was a match prior to ours where the server would yell "Pete Sampras!" as he was serving. I kid you not. Really weird but freaking hilarious. If you've ever played next to Vietnamese you'll see how much smack talk goes on during a match.

From all this discussion it appears I'm probably in the minority of players who have never called a hindrance in league play. I've been playing USTA and our local league regularly since 2005 and have yet to call a hindrance on an opponent in either doubles or singles. In fact I don't think I've even warned an opponent who I thought was exhibiting questionable behavior that what they were doing (e.g. yelling while the ball was headed towards us) might be construed as a hindrance. I have however discussed it with a doubles partner when I thought their actions might be considered a hindrance by the other team. The flip side of that coin is that I've also never had an opponent call a hindrance on me or my partner either.

I called a hindrance on an opponent in my Friday match. She kept yelling out "short" to warn her partner that I was going to smash her weak lobs. When I called it she flipped, and said "I'm allowed to talk until the ball crosses the net and is on your side of the court." Bzzzz, wrong. I ended up calling it a 'warning' and we played on, even though there are no warnings with hindrances. She would not relent her incorrect position, and we still had a lot of tennis to play. Not worth it for a mixed doubles match.

She did it at least 3 more times that match, albeit quiter (which irked me) but I did not consider it loud enough to hinder. After we won, I showed her partner The Code entry and asked him to inform her on his own time.

I called a hindrance on an opponent in my Friday match. She kept yelling out "short" to warn her partner that I was going to smash her weak lobs. When I called it she flipped, and said "I'm allowed to talk until the ball crosses the net and is on your side of the court." Bzzzz, wrong. I ended up calling it a 'warning' and we played on, even though there are no warnings with hindrances. She would not relent her incorrect position, and we still had a lot of tennis to play. Not worth it for a mixed doubles match.

She did it at least 3 more times that match, albeit quiter (which irked me) but I did not consider it loud enough to hinder. After we won, I showed her partner The Code entry and asked him to inform her on his own time.

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But . . . *why* did you call her on it?

Were you genuinely hindered? Did you start lining up your shot and then not play the ball? If you didn't play the smash, how could you chalk it up to being a warning? If you call a hindrance, then the point is over and it is your point.

Are you so distractable that the rather common event of someone warning of an impending smash that it could make you miss?

Were you genuinely hindered? Did you start lining up your shot and then not play the ball? If you didn't play the smash, how could you chalk it up to being a warning? If you call a hindrance, then the point is over and it is your point.

Are you so distractable that the rather common event of someone warning of an impending smash that it could make you miss?

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Everything that happens distracts you to some point as your brain processes what it was that you heard and then decides how to respond (even ignoring it is a response). Any distraction no matter how small may be just enough to make you not concentrate enough on your shot so that you end up missing.

The rules say you are not allowed to talk while the ball is heading towards your opponent , if you do and they hear it they are within their rights to call a hinderance. It doesn't matter how loud you said what ever it was. The fact that you said it and they heard it means they were distracted to some degree.

Everything that happens distracts you to some point as your brain processes what it was that you heard and then decides how to respond (even ignoring it is a response). Any distraction no matter how small may be just enough to make you not concentrate enough on your shot so that you end up missing.

The rules say you are not allowed to talk while the ball is heading towards your opponent , if you do and they hear it they are within their rights to call a hinderance. It doesn't matter how loud you said what ever it was. The fact that you said it and they heard it means they were distracted to some degree.

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I don't dispute what you say or what the rule is.

What I can say that I have played a bucket-load of USTA matches, and a lot of people talk/yell when they are supposed to be quiet. Yet I've never called a hindrance before and have never been called for one.

What that says to me is that players are not in fact as easily distractable as you suggest.

I guess what I am saying is that a player who claims a point due to hindrance if their opponent says something legitimate should be quite clear in their own mind that they were in fact hindered. I sensed in some of the posts that folks were calling hindrance due merely to the fact that the opponents talked and not necessarily because they were hindered by the talking.

I've only called one, and even then I didn't take the point, but it wasn't for a celebration. I played a guy at a tournament once, and he started getting into the habit of cursing every time he gave me a sitter and I was about to put it away. He'd hit it short, I'd run up and get set, and right when I started my forward swin(2HIT!!!)g.... you get the idea. He was pretty loud w/ it. The first one I framed because I lost concentration, but just let it go. The next time, I missed another one and told him he had to stop yelling when I was about to put away a short ball. I didn't take the point, though I could have, and he was quiet the rest of the match (3 and 0 to me as I recall)

I tried to call one on myself today actually. In the middle of a rally, I hit a backhand that I just KNEW was going in the net, and before I could stop myself, I let out a lighthearted growl. The ball cleared the net cleanly (by about a 1/4 inch), went in, and we had about 3 more shots each, but I gained control of the point on the shot that I yelled on, and won the point w/ a winner. I immediately apologized for the yell, and offered him the point, but he wouldn't take it, then I offered to replay the point, which he also refused. He ended up winning 4 and 4, so it worked out for him :cry:

In districts two years ago I unwittingly initiated a hindrance call. The opponents hit a short lob that I was about to hit. The lobee yelled very loudly to warn his partner. I genuinely was distracted and missed the the overhead ... however, I know that after missing the shot it could no longer be considered a hindrance.

I knew I could not have two bites at the apple but, I asked the guy not to yell mid point in the future. This fellow got quite upset, and was certain that he was allowed to warn his partner and called the referee over. He was surprised to to learn that he could not yell in this instance. Furthermore the ref had heard this commotion but was uncertain which court it had come from... it was quite a loud warning ... When he learned it was from our opponents during play he awarded us the point, despite my admittance that I had missed the ball.

This is the only time I have ever "called" or had called a hindrance on my court.

In districts two years ago I unwittingly initiated a hindrance call. The opponents hit a short lob that I was about to hit. The lobee yelled very loudly to warn his partner. I genuinely was distracted and missed the the overhead ... however, I know that after missing the shot it could no longer be considered a hindrance.

I knew I could not have two bites at the apple but, I asked the guy not to yell mid point in the future. This fellow got quite upset, and was certain that he was allowed to warn his partner and called the referee over. He was surprised to to learn that he could not yell in this instance. Furthermore the ref had heard this commotion but was uncertain which court it had come from... it was quite a loud warning ... When he learned it was from our opponents during play he awarded us the point, despite my admittance that I had missed the ball.

This is the only time I have ever "called" or had called a hindrance on my court.

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Sounds like the official blew it.

I have a similar story from 2011 nationals involving my teammates.

We were playing the finals at Nationals for 3.5 seniors. We had won one court and lost another, so it all came down to Court Three. Which was in a 10-point tiebreak, with our gals down 5-6.

In the middle of a point, opponents lobbed our net player. Her partner ran down the lob, hit it back and then shouted to her partner, "Stay, Kelly!" The opponent then missed the shot and appealed to the official stationed at the net. (Honestly, yell was well before she hit the ball, but I would guess the opponent would claim otherwise).

The official said to replay the point. Which we lost. So instead of 6-6, it was 5-7. We then went on to lose that tiebreak. Ouch.

We were playing the finals at Nationals for 3.5 seniors. We had won one court and lost another, so it all came down to Court Three. Which was in a 10-point tiebreak, with our gals down 5-6.

In the middle of a point, opponents lobbed our net player. Her partner ran down the lob, hit it back and then shouted to her partner, "Stay, Kelly!" The opponent then missed the shot and appealed to the official stationed at the net. (Honestly, yell was well before she hit the ball, but I would guess the opponent would claim otherwise).

The official said to replay the point. Which we lost. So instead of 6-6, it was 5-7. We then went on to lose that tiebreak. Ouch.

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If she had not played the ball, it wouldnt be a "let" and would be a loss of point. Normally these types of outbursts are declared "intentional" and therefore loss of point. The official must have ruled it "unintentional" and therefore a replay.

This is a prime example of "you cannot have two chances to win a point".

For unintentional hindrances its a let.
For intentional hindrances, its a loss of point.

From all this discussion it appears I'm probably in the minority of players who have never called a hindrance in league play. I've been playing USTA and our local league regularly since 2005 and have yet to call a hindrance on an opponent in either doubles or singles. In fact I don't think I've even warned an opponent who I thought was exhibiting questionable behavior that what they were doing (e.g. yelling while the ball was headed towards us) might be construed as a hindrance. I have however discussed it with a doubles partner when I thought their actions might be considered a hindrance by the other team. The flip side of that coin is that I've also never had an opponent call a hindrance on me or my partner either.

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I've never called a hindrance on anyone. I dont think there are too many hindrance (due to yelling) in singles in rec tennis. I'm going to say most, if not all hindrance calls are going to be in doubles, usually by a player trying to communicate to their partner at the net.

It's a terrible habit to do that anyway. The one time someone calls you on it is going to be the one time you cant afford to lose the point because of something silly.

Yelling "Watchout!" is just as much of a bad idea as "catching" a ball that's going long. I've seen it before, and im sure ill see it again, where a player catches a ball with their racket (or hand) that's clearly going long causing a loss of point.

FWIW, NTRPolice, I disagree that it is a bad idea to warn your partner of a short lob.

I have had partners explicitly ask me to warn them of short lobs. I give the warning if I think of it, and I appreciate it when they do it for me.

Yes, giving a warning runs the microscopic risk that some opponent someday might claim hindrance and claim the point. Failing to give a warning, however, risks that (1) your net player will be surprised by a short lob, and (2) that partner will dislike playing with you because you throw up short lobs but won't warn.

I think if we took a show of hands of how many people here have ever had an opponent claim hindrance if they say "Short" or "Watch it" or "Watch out" when they hit a short lob, very few people would say this happens.

I think it happens even less at the higher levels because players know that giving a warning is quite common.

Well, it finally happened. I called a hindrance and claimed the point. That hasn't happened to me in seven years of USTA play.

The opponent (mixed dubs) was a lady I know well. She is, erm, exuberant on the court. She celebrates her own winners with gusto. She laments errors loudly. Many people, including her partners, find this bothersome. When she was my teammate, some ladies objected to playing with her because they didn't like it (especially the outbursts following their errors).

So. We were in the middle of the first set. I hit a shot and approached the net. She popped the ball over my male partner's head, and he leapt but couldn't reach it. I took off running and caught up with the ball.

As I was still running and getting ready to hit a FH lob, I heard all this celebrating and carrying on from my female opponent. This hollering was nothing in particular (she wasn't doing anything legitimate like warning her partner to back away from an impending smash). No, she was doing war whoops, loud enough for me to hear in a noisy bubble.

I yelled "HINDRANCE!" and stopped the point. My female opponent and her partner were apologetic, but I really felt the celebration was over the top while I was lining up my shot. Knowing how she plays, I felt I needed to put a stop to it. She remained quiet for the rest of the match.

FWIW, NTRPolice, I disagree that it is a bad idea to warn your partner of a short lob.

I have had partners explicitly ask me to warn them of short lobs. I give the warning if I think of it, and I appreciate it when they do it for me.

Yes, giving a warning runs the microscopic risk that some opponent someday might claim hindrance and claim the point. Failing to give a warning, however, risks that (1) your net player will be surprised by a short lob, and (2) that partner will dislike playing with you because you throw up short lobs but won't warn.

I think if we took a show of hands of how many people here have ever had an opponent claim hindrance if they say "Short" or "Watch it" or "Watch out" when they hit a short lob, very few people would say this happens.

I think it happens even less at the higher levels because players know that giving a warning is quite common.

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I see this a lot in the lower levels and in Mixed, but I see it less often at the higher levels. But I don't understand why it is necessary to warn your partner of a short lob. If you are not looking back at your partner to see where they are hitting the ball, then it is like if you are at a baseball game and you are trying to see if a fly ball is going to be a home run. Watch the outfielder. Or in this case, watch the net person. If you see them running forward and winding up to hit an overhead, then you should probably protect yourself or turn around. You don't have to worry about the "fake double-play", or fake overhead, in tennis.

I see this a lot in the lower levels and in Mixed, but I see it less often at the higher levels. But I don't understand why it is necessary to warn your partner of a short lob. If you are not looking back at your partner to see where they are hitting the ball, then it is like if you are at a baseball game and you are trying to see if a fly ball is going to be a home run. Watch the outfielder. Or in this case, watch the net person. If you see them running forward and winding up to hit an overhead, then you should probably protect yourself or turn around. You don't have to worry about the "fake double-play", or fake overhead, in tennis.

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Meh.

I understand why folks want to be warned. If I hit a bad lob from the baseline, there will be a moment or two when I know I have hit a bad lob but my partner does not.

Yes, my partner can react to the overhead set-up of the opposing net player, but that set-up will happen a few moments after the ball leaves my racket.

FWIW, NTRPolice, I disagree that it is a bad idea to warn your partner of a short lob.

I have had partners explicitly ask me to warn them of short lobs. I give the warning if I think of it, and I appreciate it when they do it for me.

Yes, giving a warning runs the microscopic risk that some opponent someday might claim hindrance and claim the point. Failing to give a warning, however, risks that (1) your net player will be surprised by a short lob, and (2) that partner will dislike playing with you because you throw up short lobs but won't warn.

I think if we took a show of hands of how many people here have ever had an opponent claim hindrance if they say "Short" or "Watch it" or "Watch out" when they hit a short lob, very few people would say this happens.

I think it happens even less at the higher levels because players know that giving a warning is quite common.

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Actually the reason it happens less at higher levels is because people actually follow the rules which say you are not allowed to talk while the ball is traveling towards your opponent ... i dont care how innocent you think it is, the rules say not to do it and every time you do you are breaking the rules whether you get called on it or not.

Also at higher levels people know what's going on and don't need such warnings.

I understand why folks want to be warned. If I hit a bad lob from the baseline, there will be a moment or two when I know I have hit a bad lob but my partner does not.

Yes, my partner can react to the overhead set-up of the opposing net player, but that set-up will happen a few moments after the ball leaves my racket.

When a smash is coming, a few moments matters.

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I disagree that warning would give you a few extra moments if you know what to look for. The net person moving into position and hearing the warning are at worst instantaneous, and the net person likely starts to move into position first. In fact, I will often hear someone give a warning in response to the net person moving into position.

It is probably a habit you would want to get out of. Giving warning of bad lobs exposes your team to possible hindrance calls against you. You say that your partner likes to hear the warnings, but it is against the rules. It is like if your partner says they like to foot fault and then just letting them do so.

Yeah I never really understood the need to warn or desire to be warned about short lobs. If my partner hits a short lob, I can typically figure it out without much problem or delay and without any verbal help from my partner.

FWIW, NTRPolice, I disagree that it is a bad idea to warn your partner of a short lob.

I have had partners explicitly ask me to warn them of short lobs. I give the warning if I think of it, and I appreciate it when they do it for me.

Yes, giving a warning runs the microscopic risk that some opponent someday might claim hindrance and claim the point. Failing to give a warning, however, risks that (1) your net player will be surprised by a short lob, and (2) that partner will dislike playing with you because you throw up short lobs but won't warn.

I think if we took a show of hands of how many people here have ever had an opponent claim hindrance if they say "Short" or "Watch it" or "Watch out" when they hit a short lob, very few people would say this happens.

I think it happens even less at the higher levels because players know that giving a warning is quite common.

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As others have said, there isnt really a reason to have to "warn" your partner unless they're an absolute beginner or have not developed the common sense part of their game yet...

Most of the time you'll be looking at the net player, so you can see when they start to "load" for that overhead. If they're standing a ft. from the net while they "load" then you know that lob is really short and should probably turn around so you dont get hit in the face (lol).

If you're looking backwards, you were probably looking back for a line call if the ball looks like its close. In these cases, you can tell what shot your partner is hitting because you'll see them at about the same time you see the ball.

The only other time I can think of when im looking backwards is when I hear the impact of the ball, but I dont see the ball go past me in a reasonable amount of time. In these cases, ill take a look back to see what the problem is. Usually this is a "decent" lob so ill start backing up a little.

It happens less at higher levels because people know its against the rules, people will call it when its "most convenient", people can and will bean you out of spite (or even for fun) if you're yelling in their take backs, and your net player probably isnt some type of moron.

Were you genuinely hindered? Did you start lining up your shot and then not play the ball? If you didn't play the smash, how could you chalk it up to being a warning? If you call a hindrance, then the point is over and it is your point.

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Yes, it did hinder me. It was probably the 6th time so far in the match she had done so, she said it loudly, and it threw me off. I was hindered. I was in the middle of my wind-up motion when she called out. I did swing at the ball, but I guess the best way to describe it was that I called out "hey!" as I swung the racquet. I hit the overhead into the net, about half speed. I approached the net as a follow-through of moving forward for the smash and said "I'm calling that a hindrance."

She could have argued that I played the overhead and was too late to call it. That would have been a reasonable position to take, but I genuinely wasn't trying for a "second shot" at the point. But she never even said anything like that. It was clear I objected before I hit the ball. She stated a false rule. And I submit that any USTA official would have called that a hindrance if present. I admit hitting the ball at all was a bad idea.

Are you so distractable that the rather common event of someone warning of an impending smash that it could make you miss?

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Ya, and I don't think it's an uncommon characteristic. It bothers me when the peanut gallery is talking while I serve. It bothers me when players yell out on adjacent courts. Hell, it bothers pro players when fans are walking in the stands (which isn't something I would ever notice). Maybe I'm sensitive, but that's why the rule exists. Tennis is an honorable sport, and I wouldn't call it unless I was truly hindered. That was the 1st time in 15 years of tennis I ever called it.

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The opponent (mixed dubs) was a lady I know well. She is, erm, exuberant on the court. She celebrates her own winners with gusto. She laments errors loudly. Many people, including her partners, find this bothersome. When she was my teammate, some ladies objected to playing with her because they didn't like it (especially the outbursts following their errors).
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In the moment, you were in the right to call her on the outburst. However, in the big picture, you failed to correct the situation when you were her teammate or captain. Perhaps this could have been avoided and she could have learnt to control her outburst if there had been more candor and open discussion rather than behind the back sniping.

As far as warning calls for short lobs, I've seen some college and pro doubles and have heard them call out "short" and have not seen a hinderance called. Then again, a lot of those guys will face up to that overhead and still try to get it back in play! For me, I'd rather risk being called for a hinderance than let my guy get creamed.

In the moment, you were in the right to call her on the outburst. However, in the big picture, you failed to correct the situation when you were her teammate or captain. Perhaps this could have been avoided and she could have learnt to control her outburst if there had been more candor and open discussion rather than behind the back sniping.

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Um . . . As captain, I had a discussion with her and told her that her on-court antics were upsetting her partners. She took great offense at this and left the team that day. She said if her teammates were complaining about her behind her back, then this was not the team for her.

From all this discussion it appears I'm probably in the minority of players who have never called a hindrance in league play. I've been playing USTA and our local league regularly since 2005 and have yet to call a hindrance on an opponent in either doubles or singles. In fact I don't think I've even warned an opponent who I thought was exhibiting questionable behavior that what they were doing (e.g. yelling while the ball was headed towards us) might be construed as a hindrance. I have however discussed it with a doubles partner when I thought their actions might be considered a hindrance by the other team. The flip side of that coin is that I've also never had an opponent call a hindrance on me or my partner either.

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You are not alone... I've never called a hindrance either, in 6 or 7 years of USTA play. Actually I don't think I've even ever witnessed a hindrance being called (by opponents or adjacent courts).

Yeah I never really understood the need to warn or desire to be warned about short lobs. If my partner hits a short lob, I can typically figure it out without much problem or delay and without any verbal help from my partner.

Um . . . As captain, I had a discussion with her and told her that her on-court antics were upsetting her partners. She took great offense at this and left the team that day. She said if her teammates were complaining about her behind her back, then this was not the team for her.

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What's her problem? It's like warning a partner that they're foot faulting... down the road, that warning may save them a point or two in tight matches or tournaments w/ wandering refs.

What I can say that I have played a bucket-load of USTA matches, and a lot of people talk/yell when they are supposed to be quiet. Yet I've never called a hindrance before and have never been called for one.

What that says to me is that players are not in fact as easily distractable as you suggest.

I guess what I am saying is that a player who claims a point due to hindrance if their opponent says something legitimate should be quite clear in their own mind that they were in fact hindered. I sensed in some of the posts that folks were calling hindrance due merely to the fact that the opponents talked and not necessarily because they were hindered by the talking.

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An opponent hits a weak lob, you prepare to hit an overhead smash, the oppnent says, "Look out".

What does look out mean? Is it a warning to their partner? Is it a warning to you that you're about to step on an errant ball?

Volume, intent, etc. do not matter in this case.

Just show some self control and common courtesy and don't speak when the ball is heading towards your opponent.